This invention relates to stamp or label dispensers, and more particularly to dispensers for dispensing stamps, labels or the like that are removably secured to a backing strip.
Historically, stamps or labels have had adhesive backing which required moisture to be applied thereto prior to applying the stamp or label to an envelope or the like. These stamps were typically supplied in rolls, where a single stamp was torn from the roll, moistened, and then applied to the desired surface. Several dispensers have been commercially produced which allow for dispensing of a single stamp or label at a time, while the remaining portion of the roll remains within the dispenser. More recently, however, self-adhesive stamps and labels are provided on a backing strip which allows a stamp or label to be peeled off from the backing strip for direct application onto an envelope without the need for applying moisture.
In order to dispense stamps from a backing strip, the strip of stamps may be pulled over a surface or edge that substantially changes the direction of travel of the stamp strip. By pulling the backing strip along a sharp bend, the pressure sensitive adhesive that adheres the stamps to the backing strip releases the stamp, which allows the stamp to be discharged in the initial direction of travel while the backing strip is pulled in another direction.
To date, several dispensers for dispensing labels that are attached to a backing strip have been proposed. Many of the proposed designs include a housing in which is placed a roll of labels. The roll is unwound as the backing strip is pulled out of an opening in the housing. The backing strip is often pulled through a sharp turn at an exterior location of the housing such that each label becomes detached from the backing strip, as the labels do not bend around the turn with the backing strip. While such a dispenser may dispense the labels separate from the backing strip, the backing strip is often simply pulled outward from the housing, and has to be separately torn and thrown away after a substantial amount has been pulled from the housing.
Other dispensers have been proposed that include an internal take up spool upon which is wound the backing strip after the label has been discharged from the dispenser. These proposed dispensers typically include a supply roll holder and a take up spool, where the labels and backing strip are guided along a path to a sharp bend in the path where the labels are discharged from the backing strip. However, many of the designs fail to provide tension to the strip of stamps, which results in slack in the stamp strip. Slack in the strip leads to difficulty in discharging the label from the backing strip as the stamp or label then may have enough slack to bend along with the backing strip around the sharp bend in the path.
In order to reduce the slack encountered by the stamp strip, other proposed devices implement additional rollers which allow the stamp strip to roll therebetween. While such a design may reduce slack in the dispenser, it is typically a costly device as there are additional moving parts that must be adjusted properly so as to avoid over and under tensioning of the stamp strip.
Consequently, there is a need for a stamp dispenser for dispensing stamps from a backing strip, which provides for an internal take up roll for the backing strip to allow for easy disposal of the backing strip only when the supply roll of stamps is replaced in the dispenser. Furthermore, there is a need for a dispenser to provide an appropriate amount of tension to the strip of stamps or labels so that the last stamp on the strip is discharged as easily as the first stamp, while avoiding additional moving parts.